covid
According to a recent provisional report by the Ministry of Health, India has reported 41,649 new cases and 593 deaths in the last 24 hours., taking the active caseload to 4,08,920. With 37,291 recoveries in past 24 hours, total recoveries reached 3,07,81,263.
Total Cases: 3,16,13,993
Death toll: 4,23,810
46.15 Cr. Vaccine Doses have been administered so far under Nationwide Vaccination Drive. More than 44.38 lakh (44,38,901) Vaccine Doses have been administered today, as per the 7 pm provisional report.
In the new phase of the universalization of the COVID19 vaccination drive, the Union Government will procure and supply (free of cost) 75% of the vaccines being produced by the vaccine manufacturers in the country to States and UTs, according to a recent release by the Health Ministry
Kerala imposes weekend lockdown amid rise in daily infections, state-wise Covid updates below
Kerala: With 20,772 new cases in the past 24 hours, the infection tally of the state reached 33,70,137 as of Friday night, while 116 more deaths pushed the fatality count to 16,701.
The high test positivity rate (TPR) of 13.61 per cent, despite fast-tracked vaccination drives, has forced the Pinarayi Vijayan government to impose complete lockdown in the state for the weekend – July 31 and August 1 – as an attempt to check the spread.
“There are many concerns, and rise in positivity rate is one. Cases are declining everywhere and transmission is continuing in Kerala. We need to discuss this with the state. It’s a comprehensive situation,” Dr SK Singh, Director of the National Centre for Disease Control, said upon arrival in Thiruvananthapuram on Friday night.
Tamil Nadu: New cases of Coronavirus, which had been decreasing for more than two months in Tamil Nadu, have begun to climb somewhat in the last two days. On Thursday, the number of new cases increased by 100, bringing the total to 1,859 cases. On Friday, the number of cases had risen to 1,947.
With 1,859 new cases today, the tally went up to 25,55,664 till date. Fatalities rose to 34,023 with 28 people dead in the last 24 hours.
Assam: Assam reported 20 fresh fatalities due to COVID-19 on Friday, while 1,179 more people tested positive, pushing the total number of infections to 5,65,209, the National Health Mission (NHM) said. Of the fresh fatalities, three each were reported from Barpeta and Jorhat, two each in Biswanath, Chirang, Kamrup Metropolitan, and Tinsukia, and one each in Baksa, Charaideo, Dibrugarh, Golaghat, Kamrup, and Nagaon districts.
Karnataka: With a spurt in new Covid cases, especially in districts bordering Kerala, Karnataka imposed additional measures to contain the virus spread, a top official said on Friday. “Deputy Commissioners (DCs) of all districts across the state may impose additional containment measures to reduce Covid cases,” said state revenue secretary N. Manjunatha Prasad. The DCs have also been directed to monitor the Covid situation in their districts and take strict surveillance measures.
Jharkhand: Jharkhand registered 56 new COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours, pushing the tally to 3,47,105, a health department bulletin said on Friday. The coronavirus death toll remained unchanged at 5,126 in the state as no fresh fatality due to the contagion was reported, it said.
West Bengal: West Bengal on Friday reported 711 new COVID-19 cases and five more deaths, the state Health Department said. The North 24 Parganas district recorded the highest number of new cases at 101, while Kolkata reported 74 cases, it said. The state has so far reported 15,27,250 cases and 18,128 deaths, it added. In the last 24 hours, 835 people recovered from the disease, improving the recovery rate to 98.08 per cent.
It is a common misconception that storing and maintaining Pfizer needs huge investment: Jesal Doshi, B Medical Systems
A few weeks ago, B Medical Systems, a global player in the vaccine cold chain industry, announced a partnership with Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories for the pan India rollout of Sputnik V vaccines.
B Medical Systems will be offering their vaccine freezers, which can store vaccines at temperatures as low as -25°C. To address the immediate needs, these units were delivered by air freight from Luxembourg.
According to Jesal Doshi, Deputy CEO of B Medical Systems, it is tough to alter people’s minds about vaccine efficacy while kept in an ice box or a local refrigerator. Mr. Doshi claims that various vaccinations require different temperatures and that if they are not provided the appropriate temperatures, they would lose their efficacy.
Mr. Doshi claims that Pfizer is a very effective vaccine with a logistic cost of less than a rupee, and that the Indian government’s failure to get the vaccine into the nation is a source of significant concern.
Here are a few excerpts from the discussion with Mr. Doshi:
You have recently tied up with Dr Reddy’s lab for pan-India rollout of Sputnik V. Tell us more about that? Tell us about the work B Medical has done to help with the rollout of Covid 19 vaccines?
Jesal Doshi: For more than 40 years, B Medical Systems has been the world’s oldest and biggest firm dedicated only to the cold chain of vaccinations providing safe transportation for vaccines, pharmaceuticals and blood. We are a company based in Luxembourg, Europe, and we have been operating there until early this year, when we were invited to start manufacturing in India by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. We built up our own manufacturing plant in India after receiving that invitation in a record-span of four months. This is the first time we’ve manufactured outside of Luxembourg, and I’m quite proud of the fact that we chose India to do so.
Coming to the pact with Dr. Reddy’s, nearly every vaccination is temperature sensitive and may lose its potency if not kept at the proper temperature. Sputnik requires a temperature of -18 degrees Celsius for storage, whereas other vaccinations require a temperature of 2-8 degrees Celsius. Pfizer, on the other hand, requires storage at -60°C or lower, making it difficult to retain these vaccines at a proper temperature under such harsh circumstances, which is where we come in. We ensure that any vaccine, at any temperature under any condition is maintained correctly and hence assuring that the recipient receives the rightly stored and transported vaccine.
There are many areas where the terrain may be hostile, electric supply may be erratic – How do you manage in such areas?
Jesal Doshi: There are two different challenges, one being the terrain and the other one being very peculiar to the nation, i.e., “Thanda Hai To Chalta Hai” wherein people use iceboxes and cold-drink refrigerators for storing vaccines that require a temperature of 2-8 degree Celsius, rendering them totally useless.
Second, our firm employs equipment that operates on a wide range of power sources. For example, we have equipment that can run entirely on solar energy, a DC battery, kerosene, or regular power. Using any of these power sources, they can all sustain temperatures ranging from -18 to 25 degrees. We operate and maintain the whole cold chain supply in extremely remote locations such as Afghanistan and Congo.
We already have immunisation programmes in India but here we are talking about vaccinating the entire adult population is this country – do you think we have the cold chain support to do that?
Jesal Doshi: India has administered more or less about 40 crore people and believe it or not, it was the easy part of the journey because now we will face issues reaching people in the most difficult locations. If you look at the figures, you will notice that majority of the population in the rural areas haven’t received vaccines yet.
We are providing solutions to the central as well as the state government and working with Dr. Reddy’s for the Sputnik. We are ensuring that vaccines reach the remotest areas so that every individual is vaccinated.
For the benefit of your views help us understand the importance of a reliable cold chain system in these times?
Jesal Doshi: I think even if you have the best vaccine in the world, it will not work without an appropriate cold chain. Vaccines can decompose if not dealt with the right temperature. Most nations immunise all of their children, but after decades of mass immunisation, we have yet to reach a 100% vaccination rate, with the main issue being a lack of effective cold chain.
In India, there is an absence of an appropriate cold chain to take charge of the Sputnik vaccine. This is also the reason why Pfizer has not been introduced in the country. Till now, we have introduced Pfizer in more than 25 countries around the world including Africa.
Is India ready or will be prepared to bring Pfizer into the country considering the high efficacy of the vaccine?
Jesal Doshi: It is a misconception that storing and transporting Pfizer needs huge investment. When you look at the challenges around the vaccine shortages, it is very affordable to bring vaccines like Pfizer into the country, transportation of which costs not more than a rupee.
How can India improve its current cold chain system?
Jesal Doshi: In such cases, increasing vaccination availability might be a viable option. You must adhere to a regimen and ensure that there are no negative repercussions. Pfizer, for example, is widely disseminated around the world because to its effectiveness and lack of reported adverse effects. The vaccination is still not available in the country, which is a source of great disappointment for me.
Take us through the challenges you faced during this drive bad the lessons learnt from it.
Jesal Doshi: It is a matter of great pride for India to be regarded as the world’s vaccine capital, but the issue today is to maintain and supervise the safe storage and transportation of vaccines. Real-time monitoring is provided, allowing you to follow the availability of vaccinations throughout the world and ensure that each one is properly maintained. You can help save lives by maintaining a proper cold chain.
Mr. Doshi’s advise on the necessity for improvements in health infrastructure and vaccine availability during this epidemic, in which many people are dying, is extremely important.
IMA President lambasts Kerala Govt, says reckless attitude led to rise in cases
As the number of Covid cases continue to spiral in the state of Kerala, the IMA President Prof. Dr. J.A. Jayalal lashed out heaving at the Kerala Govt saying that reopening without a plan led to rise in cases. Batting for starting schools again again, the IMA president said that ‘schools should be opened in a graded manner’. Here also he hit out at the Kerala Govt saying that had the state acted responsibly and ‘started opening up gradually, the situation would have been better’
Notably, IMA has already called Kerala government’s decision to ease COVID-19 restrictions on the occasion of Eid al-Adha or Bakri Eid as ‘unwarranted’.
In an exclusive interview with Medically Speaking, the IMA President claimed that the Kerala government was adamant on opening the schools and relaxing covid restrictions which lead to thousands of cases and hundreds of deaths in the state.
He further added that the massive shortage of vaccine is a result of the lack of planning on the part of the state & Central government. On the thirdwave he said “I do not agree with the prediction that the third wave will have a disastrous effect. I am confident that the third wave will come. The way in which we have taken up the vaccination drive, followed by the Covid appropriate behaviour and the natural immunity of the people- all these things will ensure that the third wave will not be as disastrous as the second wave,”.
Following are a few snippets from the interview:
The IMA has time and again warned the central and state governments. You told the Kerala government not to go ahead with the bakr eid celebrations. What will be your first reaction to those state governments and people who are going ahead with festivities thinking that the second wave is over and we have a short window to celebrate?
Prof Dr Jayalal: Democracy always leads by popularity. During the pandemic, the health of the people is of utmost importance. The IMA plays a major role to tell what is right and how the people should mend their ways to ensure safety and security in the country.
What do you say about the Kerala government? The IMA government asked them to not go ahead with the bakr eid celebration. Also, the number of tourists in states like Himachal Pradesh have peaked in the past few days. What do you think the state governments should do and where are they lacking?
Prof Dr Jayalal: It is the duty of the government to tell the people what to do. Unfortunately, the Kerala CM was very adamant on opening the schools and relaxing the Covid restrictions. This led to 17,580 cases and 138 deaths in Kerala. India is a federal structure. We cannot allow one state to go according to their whims and fancies. That is going to have an impact on the entire country. That is why we are asking the government to come forward to curtail these cases. The cases are increasing day by day. That is why the IMA is asking the people and governments to mend their ways.
Do you think that schools should remain shut for the time being?
Prof Dr Jayalal: We need to exclusively plan about reopening the schools. People should not come in crowds. They should maintain social distancing, wear masks and follow the vaccination protocol. The schools should not be kept closed for a long time as it can have a psychological impact on the children. We will advise that schools should be opened in a graded and sustained way. The schools need not be open on all five days. The students can be called for just two days.
Children have been silent carriers of Covid in the last wave as well. How important is it to vaccinate them? Where are we when it comes to vaccinating the children in our country?
Prof Dr Jayalal: If the parents and the adults of the family are vaccinated and masking is practised then Covid will not have a disastrous effect on the children.
Where do you see we are months from when the drive started? Many experts feel that we would not be able to vaccinate the whole population of the country by the end of the year. What will be your reaction to that?
Prof Dr Jayalal: On June 21, India proved that 8.8 lakh people were vaccinated. That means that we have the capacity to vaccinate upto ten million people. Secondly, the country needs to have a sufficient supply of vaccines.
Where are we lacking? Why such a massive shortage of vaccines?
Prof Dr Jayalal: We are lacking because the government did not plan on how they would be going with the vaccine production. They were just depending on two companies which had a limited capacity. They can make 2.5 or three million vaccines. That does not meet the needs of the ten million people. We are taking a lot of time to import the Sputnik vaccine, although the permission has already been given. In Tamil Nadu, a big nine hundred crore vaccine unit is idle. If the government was really interested, they would have worked some ways by which the vaccine production would have augmented. But we are ready to support the government and before 2021 we plan to vaccinate the complete population.
When we speak of shortage of supply, we have seen a great tussle between the state and the centre. Similar tussle played out when the Centre said that ‘no deaths have been reported because of lack of oxygen supply’. How would you react to the politics happening around it and to the statement that ‘no deaths happened due to the shortage of oxygen’ ?
Prof Dr Jayalal: What the mind does not know, the eyes will not see. That is what is happening with the Honourable Health Minister today. He has said that none of the states have given an official report about deaths due to shortage of oxygen, so he is not wrong on his part. This is the most painful thing during Covid. There have been so many doctor deaths but the government has no official data about their deaths.
Many doctors say that the third wave is impending. Some say that it is already here. Where will you say India stands when it comes to the third wave?
Prof Dr Jayalal: I do not agree with the prediction that the third wave will have a disastrous effect. I am confident that the third wave will come. The way in which we have taken up the vaccination drive, followed by the Covid appropriate behaviour and the natural immunity of the people- all these things will ensure that the third wave will not be as disastrous as the second wave. I expect that the number of cases will be lesser than projected. The mortality rate will also be less because we have augmented our infrastructure, manpower and the resource material. When we are well prepared to face the situation, we have nothing to worry about.
Do you think we are well prepared?
Prof Dr Jayalal: In comparison to the second wave, we are well prepared for the third wave. We know our faults and gaps now. Those gaps have been filled up. Unless the virus is arrogant with us, we will sail safely through the third wave.
Fourth wave of Covid-19 hits Middle East, WHO issues warning over delta variant
The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Thursday that the delta variant of the coronavirus has sparked a fourth wave of the pandemic in the Middle East, with the increase in Covid-19 infections and fatalities predominantly being recorded among those who have not been vaccinated.
Dr. Ahmed Al-Mandhari, WHO regional director for the Eastern Mediterranean, said, “The fast spread of the Delta variant across the Eastern Mediterranean Region and all other WHO regions is a serious reason for worry.” “Across the area, we are already in the fourth wave of Covid-19.”
According to WHO, the delta form of the coronavirus has now been detected in 15 of the Middle East’s 22 nations. Unvaccinated patients make up the majority of new Covid-19 cases and hospitalised patients. The region’s low vaccination rate, along with the delta form of the coronavirus’s enhanced transmissibility, is a key source of worry.
Iran, Iraq, Tunisia, and Libya are the countries worst hit by the recent surge in Covid-19 cases in the Middle East, said the public health body of the United Nations (UN). “Over 310 000 new cases and 3500 deaths have been reported on average on a weekly basis during the last 4 weeks, which is a 55% and 15% increase in the number of cases and deaths, respectively, compared to the previous month,” a statement issued by the WHO media centre read.
“Admission and hospitalisation rates have increased in the last few weeks, and some referral hospitals are reaching full capacity and facing a shortage of intensive care beds and oxygen supplies,” it added.
Covid-19 management does not only include churning out vaccines that are highly effective against coronavirus disease infection, but also requires an equitable increase in the vaccination coverage, the UN body said. “Until and unless vaccination coverage is increased equitably for everybody, everywhere, the virus will continue to circulate and mutate to produce new variants,” WHO said in its statement.
The UN health agency stated on Wednesday that the worldwide number of new COVID-19 cases recorded last week (19-25 July) was over 3.8 million, up 8% from the previous week.
The latest data from the World Health Organization (WHO) showed a “substantial” uptick in the Americas and the Western Pacific, which jumped 30 per cent and 25 per cent, respectively.
An average of around 540 000 cases was reported globally each day over the past week as compared to 490 000 cases reported daily the week before.
When compared to the previous week, the number of deaths reported this week climbed dramatically, with almost 69 000 deaths, a 21% rise. In total, almost 194 million cases and over 4 million fatalities have been documented across the world.
According to the WHO, the United States had the largest number of new cases throughout the seven-day period, with more than half a million new infections, indicating a 131 percent rise.
According to WHO’s data, this rise was followed by Brazil – 324,334 new cases; Indonesia – 289,029 new cases; the United Kingdom – 282,920 new cases; and India – 265,836 new cases.
“In the last week, global #COVID19 cases increased by ~6.5% and deaths increased by ~20.6% Last week >69,000 people died. This is an absolute travesty because we can prevent deaths,” said Maria Van Kerkhove, COVID-19 Technical Lead at WHO.
The global total of 195,266,156 confirmed COVID-19 includes 4.1 million deaths. As of Monday, almost 3.7 billion vaccine doses have been administered.
Of the four COVID-19 mutations that WHO has designated “variants of concern”, the UN agency said that the Alpha variant is present in 182 countries, Beta is in 131, Gamma in 81 and after reaching eight new countries in the past week, the Delta variant is now in 132 countries.
The first verified case of three Covid infections was a 61-year-old Delhi doctor, two of which were caused by the virus’s Alpha and Delta strains 22 days apart.
Dr. Jayanthi Shastri, head of Molecular Diagnostics Laboratory in Mumbai’s Kasturba Hospital, said, “The second and third infections occurred after she took both her shots and had developed antibodies.”
Doctors hold protest after following a COVID patient kin attack on a coworker
On Tuesday, doctors at Erragada Chest Hospital in Hyderabad protested an alleged assault on a colleague by a COVID patient’s family.
After examining the patient, the doctor asked his attendants if he took his Blood Pressure medicine. The kin got furious saying “It’s your job, not ours and thrashed him,” alleged Dr Pranay, a post graduate resident doctor at Erragada hospital.
The postgraduate resident doctor’s mask was allegedly torn by the patients’ attendants, and he was also hit and kicked in the abdomen by the patients’ attendants in the COVID ward, according to Dr Pranay in an interview with ANI.
Luckily, there were other staff members present in the ward who rescued him, lifted him and brought him out of the ward, added Dr Pranay.
Referring to the various incidents where the doctors have been beaten by the patient’s families, Dr Pranay said, “This has happened a lot of times, every time something like this happens we come out of protest but the issue gets diluted”.
“We have been demanding security from the governments but we have not got it,” he added.
The doctors have spoken to the administration and they are yet to know whether an institutional FIR against the patient’s family members has been filed or not, further added Dr Pranay.
While talking to ANI, Dr Pranay requested the people to please maintain their sanity when they are in the hospital as a doctor is doing everything he can and don’t just come randomly and beat the doctor.
The doctors were seen carrying placards with messages like “Zero Tolerance against violence”, “Save the Saviour”, written on them.
Three times since July 2020 and twice after being vaccinated earlier this year, a 26-year-old Mulund physician has been positive for Covid-19, according to Malathy Iyer.
“The reinfections are confusing,” said Dr. Shruthi Halari, whose swab samples have been collected for genome sequencing as part of a citywide study on breakthrough infections (occurring after a person is vaccinated).
While there are no clear answers for why the doctor got Covid thrice, doctors told TOI that the reasons could range from SARS2 variants to her immunity levels to an incorrect diagnostic report (through RT-PCR is the gold standard for Covid-19 testing, it has a sensitivity of around 70%-75%).
Reinfections among doctors have been reported across the world, with a couple of studies from within Mumbai hospitals as well. However, reinfections cannot be proved until swab samples from the two (or more) infections are compared using genetically sequencing.